Throughout the supplements on Arrow’s new (rather impressive) Blu-ray edition of this landmark gangster film, nearly everyone involved speaks of their collective desire to simply make the best film they possibly could, and in many ways, The Long Good Friday is just about the most natural result of that pursuit. Nothing goes unaccounted for, the characters are all richly drawn, the narrative drive is forceful without overwhelming a chance for reflection, and there’s just enough of a mystery to the whole thing to keep the audience hooked. The satisfaction that can come from such a well-rounded, expertly-delivered film can sometimes, however, be diminished by the sheer contentedness of the thing. Life is unwieldy, unpredictable, and sometimes incomprehensible, and films that ignore those qualities in the pursuit of “perfection” can feel closed-off.
Indeed, most of The Long Good Friday follows this tendency – Harold Shand’s (Bob Hoskins) is a...
Indeed, most of The Long Good Friday follows this tendency – Harold Shand’s (Bob Hoskins) is a...
- 7/20/2015
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
Sil in Vengeance on Varos BBC
By Kieran Kinsella
Liverpool born screenwriter Philip Martin has delighted British TV audiences with entertaining and sometimes hard-hitting scripts for classic shows such as Z-Cars, Doctor Who, and Hetty Wainthrop Investigates. He also created the critically acclaimed and somewhat controversial 70s era BBC drama Gangsters. As a fan of his work, and a fellow Evertonian, I was delighted when Philip agreed to an interview. Like many great writers, he began his career in the creative arts as a performer. I began the interview by asking him why he decided to make the move from actor to writer.
“I had good experiences in my acting career, playing leads in Play of the Week etc but I looked younger than my age and when I could no longer play juveniles it was like having to start all over again. By that time I was thinking about...
By Kieran Kinsella
Liverpool born screenwriter Philip Martin has delighted British TV audiences with entertaining and sometimes hard-hitting scripts for classic shows such as Z-Cars, Doctor Who, and Hetty Wainthrop Investigates. He also created the critically acclaimed and somewhat controversial 70s era BBC drama Gangsters. As a fan of his work, and a fellow Evertonian, I was delighted when Philip agreed to an interview. Like many great writers, he began his career in the creative arts as a performer. I began the interview by asking him why he decided to make the move from actor to writer.
“I had good experiences in my acting career, playing leads in Play of the Week etc but I looked younger than my age and when I could no longer play juveniles it was like having to start all over again. By that time I was thinking about...
- 2/22/2015
- by Edited by K Kinsella
"People who talk wistfully of the 'golden age of British television drama' are often accused of viewing the past through the rosy lens of nostalgia," writes Ronald Bergan in the Guardian. "But a clear-eyed examination of the era proves that such slots as the BBC's The Wednesday Play (1964-70) and Play for Today (1970-84) were unsurpassed as breeding grounds for talented directors such as John Mackenzie, who has died after a stroke aged 83. Like most of his contemporaries who gained their experience by working in television — Philip Saville, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Ken Loach, Mike Newell, Michael Apted and Mike Leigh — Mackenzie went on to make feature films, notably his superb London-based gangster picture, The Long Good Friday (1980)."
Paul Gallagher has posted a documentary on the making of The Long Good Friday at Dangerous Minds, preceded by a deeply appreciative introduction: "It started when producer Barry Hanson asked writer Barrie Keefe, one night,...
Paul Gallagher has posted a documentary on the making of The Long Good Friday at Dangerous Minds, preceded by a deeply appreciative introduction: "It started when producer Barry Hanson asked writer Barrie Keefe, one night,...
- 6/12/2011
- MUBI
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